Abstract:
Accelerating the deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy is an inevitable requirement for achieving high-quality economic development. Clarifying the mechanism of the impact of digital-real integration on common prosperity in both urban and rural areas is of great significance for promoting coordinated development between urban and rural areas. Based on panel data from 78 cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2013 to 2023, this paper measures the level of digital-real integration using an improved coupling evaluation model and empirically analyzes the impact of digital-real integration on common prosperity in both urban and rural areas and its mechanism using panel regression models and mediation effect models. The results show: 1) During the study period, both the level of digital-real integration and common prosperity in the Yellow River Basin have shown a continuous upward trend, but significant regional differences exist, with an overall spatial non-equilibrium characteristic. 2) Digital-real integration significantly promotes common prosperity in both urban and rural areas, with this effect being more pronounced in downstream regions, regions with high internet penetration levels, and regions with high human capital levels. 3) Mechanism testing indicates that digital-real integration mainly affects common prosperity in both urban and rural areas indirectly through economic agglomeration effects, entrepreneurial incentive effects, and ecological improvement effects. 4) Threshold effect analysis shows that as the level of digital infrastructure improves, the promoting effect of digital-real integration on common prosperity exhibits a significant nonlinear enhancement. Based on this, the paper suggests further strengthening the construction of digital infrastructure, fully unleashing the enabling effect of digital-real integration, and adhering to localized strategies and targeted policies to promote the continuous improvement of common prosperity in urban and rural areas.